Sheffield Urban Race - 3rd Sept

[Wendles]

Thankyou to everyone involved in today's Urban Race which was very enjoyable. I found it physical and with lots of route choice. I was cursing Simon for the last loop when I could have happily finished after number 19, but pleased to have completed the whole course. If the event is to be repeated at Gleadless it might be an idea to have the start on the finish area as lots of local people were interested in what was going on, some stopped to chat as I was taking photos from the walkway, and some children ran round with orienteers, having a great time.

Some photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendles56/sets/72157627583707426/ as usual if you are unable to download them and would like copies, e-mail me on wendy.carlyle@btinternet.com

[andypat]

Also really enjoyed today's race and agree with Wendy it was pretty physical too. The last loop for us went up and down the hill 3 times! Ouch....

[Ant W]

We made a late decision to attend (it fell nicely with other activities) and I'm really pleased we did. I found the course really physical, at the limit of my current fitness, but also constantly technical and of course the climb added to the route choice challenge. Thanks for a great event!

[epocian]

Thanks to all concerned for an enjoyable event. Couldn't help noticing though that some runners were going through the solid green (hedge) on the leg 28 - 29 on course B
Don't they ever read the legend?

[OGirl]

I really enjoyed it too although was too tired by the end. I had a group of local kids running with me for a while and it was funny Shame some people feel the need to cheat by cutting through hedges though

[mikey]

I really enjoyed it too although was too tired by the end. I had a group of local kids running with me for a while and it was funny Shame some people feel the need to cheat by cutting through hedges though

And by punching through fences.

[SYO Member]

I saw an A course runner climbing over the fence on top of the impassable wall at Control 208 (their No. 4) and then jumping down while I was heading for my B course 8th control at approx. 10:44 race time.

[Jayne]

Thanks for a great, tricky race. Can't wait to see the different routes up on routegadget.

[Roger]

Thanks to all concerned for an enjoyable event. Could help noticing though that some runners were going through the solid green (hedge) on the leg 28 - 29 on course B
Don't they ever read the legend?

Coming down towards the last control on course A, I saw a small gap between a hedge and a building that had red-and-white tape on it. Remembering that the final details had mentioned taped gaps, I made a snap decision to go through rather than continuing to the mapped gap and steps beyond the building. Subsequent careful study of the map with a magnifying glass suggests that I was wrong -- probably. And also that I'd have been better to stick to my original route rather than doing what I thought I was being encouraged to do: not only was the revised route poorer, but because I hadn't planned how to finish the leg from there I hesitated.

Excellent event: I enjoyed it despite several big errors and hitting max heart rate (pretty unusual for an orienteering event) at the penultimate control. Thanks to all involved.

[Fourth]

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[andypat]

In hindsight tape shouldn't have been used as it was also used on crossing points. Because it was an error in the mapping/organisation I don't think anyone will get disqualified.

Sounds like a sensible decision - I spoke to a couple of people who saw the tape and turned back, but Roger's point about the taping of the gap in the final details also makes sense.

[Electrocuted]

In hindsight tape shouldn't have been used as it was also used on crossing points. Because it was an error in the mapping/organisation I don't think anyone will get disqualified.

Sounds like a sensible decision - I spoke to a couple of people who saw the tape and turned back, but Roger's point about the taping of the gap in the final details also makes sense.

I spotted the gap from below and ran up to it. When I saw the tape I was confused as I wasn't sure if it was trying to make the crossing point obvious or trying to make it out of bounds. The tape was lying on the ground. I checked my map and decided that there was no gap in the impassable hedge so went round instead.

Great event. Thanks to everyone in the organising team.

[tomtom]

Enjoyed the race, some good route choices and the control descriptions caught me out once, so I knew to double check them for the rest of the race.
A few boring controls but this has to be done to get the distance up. I would have prefered it to be half the distance like a proper 'sprint' race but I know urban/city races are different.

Also getting the tram to the event worked out perfectly.

I also came to the gap in the hedge and saw there was no way through on the map so ran round. I came to the control and saw someone who I was with at the hedge who had clearly gone through. I saw no red tape but this shouldn't be needed when the map is very clear. It's almost as if at these races you have someone stationed at every tempting un-crossable feature to prevent people crossing it.

[AndyC]

Those who were confused about the tape at the gap -would it be better if Black & Yellow tape had been used instead of Red & White?

(We had comments in The Northern Champs weekend where on Saturday red/white tape was used to block gaps in the maze and on Sunday marked crossing points)

[PG]

Those who were confused about the tape at the gap -would it be better if Black & Yellow tape had been used instead of Red & White?

I was the mapper who missed the narrow gap and the controller who used red and white tape after the branches had been kicked aside for the second time. You are right it would have been better with black and yellow tape. As far as I know we hadn't needed any elsewhere, so I wasn't prepared; I will know better next time. Sorry about the confusion.

Peter Gorvett